1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a shop settlement method for performing a settlement at a POS register terminal by use of a cell phone having a camera unit with a built-in IC chip, a system and a program therefore. More particularly, the invention relates to a shop settlement method for conducting exchange of settlement information between a POS register terminal and a cell phone via display and reading of barcode images, a system and a program therefore.
2. Description of the Related Art
Wide popularization of cashless systems based on IC chips has just been started, and in the area of POS systems, settlement systems using IC cards are practically in use. Such an IC card settlement system is achieved by connecting a settlement terminal exclusively for IC card to a conventional POS register terminal. The settlement terminal used in such an IC card settlement system may be of the contact type or of the non-contact type. The result of transaction of IC card settlement is notified to the IC card settlement center from the shop POS register terminal or a special settlement terminal.
A cell phone having a built-in IC chip has recently been industrialized as a portable terminal usable for a cashless system. In the case of prepaid type settlement, by charging the necessary amount in advance in an IC chip of a cell phone via a bank terminal or internet, this is applicable for settlement when purchasing goods in a shop as in conventional settlement with an IC chip. When buying a merchandise in an internet shop, the cell phone exchanges information necessary for settlement with a server in an IC card settlement center, by subtracting an amount of settlement from a value charged to the IC chip of the cell phone.
Since electronic transaction by using a cell phone terminal is possible even in the absence of internet access function or radio communication function in the POS register terminal, settlement processing is accomplished by causing display of user data for credit card settlement in the form of two-dimensional barcodes, and reading out the displayed barcodes with a scanner of the POS register terminal. As a result, it is possible to perform credit card settlement upon buying a good at a shop through a cell phone terminal, without the need to carry a credit card.                [Patent Document 1] Japanese Unexamined Patent No. 2002-140635        [Patent Document 2] Japanese Unexamined Patent No. 2001-222765        [Patent Document 3] Japanese Unexamined Patent No. 2001-216567        
However, in POS system permitting settlement with a conventional IC card, a special IC card settlement terminal must be connected to a POS register terminal of the shop, which requires to pay initial investment cost of a settlement terminal, and to provide a place for physical installation.
It is necessary, in the conventional IC card settlement POS system, to notify the result of transaction of settlement based on IC card from the shop POS system to the IC card settlement center. The system is therefore defective in that it requires construction of infrastructure for connecting to the IC card settlement center, in addition to the necessity to install an IC card settlement terminal on the shop side.
There is available another method of using a cell phone having a built-in IC chip to conduct settlement at the POS register terminal at a shop by accessing internet as in the purchase of goods in an internet shop. This method however requires the internet accessing function on the POS system side. Operation of the cell phone is complicated for the user, so that it is not suitable for real-time settlement at the shop POS register terminal requiring immediateness.
In a method of displaying settlement data in the form of two-dimensional barcodes at a cell phone terminal, and reading out the displayed data with the scanner of the POS Register terminal, thereby conducting settlement by a credit card, settlement data registered in advance through access to the server on the internet from the cell phone terminal is acquired by the user upon settlement and displayed on the screen. The access to the server in this case is carried out through exchange of HTML data, and this requires payment of packet charge in a large amount, thus causing a problem of an increased burden on the user.